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Kickin’ Butt and Takin’ Names

This morning was a bit different than our recent ones – no sitting around for us today! Lead by Erinne’s friend Jolie, we learned some basic self-defence to handle those situations that we never want to be in and we don’t like to think about. It was really helpful to learn how to use our bodies to their best advantage – hopefully we’re never called upon to actually break someone’s arm!

A few quick pointers to take away from the session:

Run away as soon as you can

Use your body in such a way as to keep you comfortable and your assailant uncomfortable

Use whatever you have on hand – shoes, handbags, a stick, keys, etc

Shout immediately and get into your stance to intimidate them

One thing that would be interesting to discuss (in the comments!) is how you felt about this morning’s session. A lot of us were laughing nervously at the idea of breaking noses or arms, or significantly hurting another person. I know that at least a handful of us have a Mennonite streak in us, and Mennonites are historically pacifists. How does learning self-defence sit with you? Would you let your kids learn to defend themselves? Were you empowered, uncomfortable, or somewhere in between this morning? I’m interested in your perspective!

~Annemarie

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3 thoughts on “Kickin’ Butt and Takin’ Names”

Even though I wasn’t able to participate because I was holding a baby I was trying to memorize the moves to practice at home. It feels empowering to me, kind of the same feeling I get when taking CPR, you hope you never have to use it, but you feel so much better knowing that you are equipped to deal with these situations.

Funny that you mentioned about the Mennonite thing… even though I taught KickAerobics for many years (lots of kicking and punching moves), and even though I was totally interested in learning the self-defence moves this morning, in the back of my mind it feels strange to practice what could be seen as fighting – only b/c I’ve been brought up as a Mennonite pacifist. On the other hand, I LOVE the way I feel when I kick and punch in a class – a total energy/stress release and you burn tonnes of calories, too!

I totally agree with Coralee… I felt the same way when I did a CPR / First Aid course as a new mommy. These are things you never want to have to use, but you sleep a little better at night knowing that you’ve covered off the JUST IN CASEs.

I, for one, really enjoyed fake attacking Nicole (hehe). I guess I didn’t really see it as fighting. And Gina’s right – it feels AWESOME to punch + kick stuff. I’ve often thought about taking up boxing just for fun. I think it would be more effective than therapy!

Something I thought of as we were leaving our session was a situation that I’ve found myself in and a strategy that was super effective – effective enough that I want to be sure to share it with the group! I’ve had a few times where some random guy made me feel very uncomfortable and followed me to my car, then followed my car as I went home. Every time, instead of going home, I drove into the parking lot of a police station (once it was a fire station, and that worked too). It’s AMAZING how quickly the other car will drive away in the opposite direction!